Baby Food Recipes 3/5/12

Lately, I’ve begun leaving even more small chunks in Eliana's food- but I’m still calling them purees for lack of a better description. (If you have any ideas for what to call this, please leave a comment after this post.)  At this point, Eliana just assumes she should eat whatever Matt and I are eating. Organic, seasonal and pureed, or not! She will look at our food and make a sort of demanding and questioning, “Eh!?” sound as if to say, “And where’s mine?” For that reason, we’ve been letting her lick more of different types of foods even if it's just for a taste. 

My daddy thought he would eat this Cara Cara orange by himself. Silly Daddy!

Forget Butterfinger. Nobody better lay a finger on my asparagus! 

Here are some more of the recipes I’ve made for Eliana over the last few weeks.

Lentil Puree

-½ cup dried lentils (rinsed and drained)

-Olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste

-Reserved cooking liquid

Bring a small pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add lentils and boil for two minutes. Then let simmer until tender- around an hour. Drain and reserve some liquid in case you need it for pureeing. Add lentils, olive oil, salt and pepper to blender and puree. Add cooking liquid as needed to loosen mixture.

Let cool slightly before serving to baby.

Lentil puree with a little bit of fried egg whites. 

Applesauce with Kale-Potato Puree

I came upon this one by mistake. I had intended to give her the applesauce in some bites and the kale and potato puree in other bites. Since it was mixing together in her spoon, I tasted them together and the combination was really tasty. (I had to make sure it was good because I wouldn't give her anything to eat that I wouldn't eat myself. Well, except for meat- but that is a whole other conversation.) So, I mixed the two and she ate it up. And, it gave me ideas of how to make tastier and healthier potato pancakes in the future!

-Mix 2 parts applesauce to 1 part warmed kale and potato puree.

Apple-Spinach Puree

Much tastier than it looks!

-1 apple, peeled and chopped (not a Granny Smith)

-1 handful of spinach leaves

-Juice of ½ lemon

Steam apple and spinach together. Blend and add lemon juice. Mix.

Let cool slightly before serving to baby.

Variation: Add cinnamon with or without lemon juice.

And even tastier with a teething ring.

Apple-Banana Puree

-1 Fuji apple peeled and chopped

-½ banana, chopped

-Few shakes of cinnamon

-Around ¼ cup of water

Put apple, cinnamon and about half the water in a small pot on medium heat and bring up to a simmer. Stir. Let simmer around 4 or 5 minutes. Keep an eye on the water level so the mixture does not burn. Add banana and stir.  Continue to cook another 1-2 minutes. Add more water as needed so there is always some liquid on the bottom of the pot. Remove from heat and stir. Mash with a fork or puree in a blender.

Let cool slightly before serving to baby.

Variations: Substitute fresh nutmeg for cinnamon. Add Greek yogurt and/or oatmeal. 

Using her travel seat at Grandma Lauren's and Grandpa Pat's in Florida.

I'm in charge of the spoon!

I've also been making her a lot of egg whites that I fry in olive oil and cook a bit longer than I would typically so there are no undercooked parts. I crack them into a bowl, whisk them, add a bit of salt and pepper and sometimes Parmesan cheese. Then I fry them in olive oil or olive oil cooking spray. I also peel off the skin that forms because I worry about it being a choking hazard like the skin on a blueberry or apple. I use egg whites and Parmesan cheese just because it is what I make for myself and Eliana began trying to get them off my plate about a two months ago. I break or cut it into small pieces, around the size of her fingernail, before giving it to her. 

I make her French toast too which, again, I cook a bit longer than probably necessary so all the egg is cooked through. 

French Toast

-2 egg whites and 1 whole egg

-1 slice of whole wheat bread

-Vanilla extract to taste

-1 tablespoon of milk (I use skim because that’s what we keep in the house but use whatever you prefer)

-Cooking spray or butter

Whisk eggs, milk and vanilla in a bowl and pour into a square baking dish. Let bread soak in mixture for 5 minutes per side. On a griddle or in a large non-stick pan, heat cooking spray or butter on medium heat. Shake excess egg mixture off bread and cook for 4-5 minutes per side.

Cut into pieces around the size of baby’s fingernail before serving to baby.

My plate before I broke up small pieces for Eliana.

Hey! You got any more of that?

Happy Cooking!